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My Introduction to Letterboxing

A week ago I kind of invited myself to join a couple of friends at a museum in Denver. Any time we go to a museum the girls think it's a huge special treat, which I love, so of course I made it happen. A convenient side note to our meet up was that my friends were going to be doing some letterboxing in Denver that day as well.

Letter, what?

The long and short of it is, Letterboxing is like a treasure hunt. When you discover a letterbox, from clues you find on the Atlas Quest website, the letterbox will contain a logbook and a stamp. A letterboxer also carries their own logbook and personal stamp to record the find. I stamp the letterbox logbook to let the person who planted it know I was there and then I stamp my personal logbook with the letterbox stamp to help me record the letterbox I discovered!

Now, I've only been doing this for a week, but I've learned so many things. For example my letterboxing lingo has grown more than tenfold. I can now explain what a hitchhiker, first finder, plant, F/P restrictions are, and even how to hand carve a stamp. I've already created a box that I planted for others to find, with a hand carved stamp and logbook, complete with clues.

The best part of letterboxing? It's something I do with my girls, they've learned the LB etiquette, and we have a really great time exploring all sorts of amazing locations. Even J was eager to join us to grab a few new finds on Father's Day. So far the letterboxes we've found have been very creative and all the stamps have been beautiful hand carvings. I love connecting with such creative folks. Another great part of letterboxing is that they are planted around the world, so any where we travel to will have an extra bonus with hunting down special boxes.

Letterboxing is a lovely hobby and I look forward to where the adventures take me!

Here's my signature stamp, the stamp I take along with me to use in logbooks, leaving my little mark in the letterbox! It's a bit tricky wrapping your brain around carving a stamp, because you have to do any lettering or images you want backwards. My letterboxing identity is EatPlayLove (big surprise) with the Flatirons (for Boulder).

To date, 18 finds, 1 plant, and 1 hitchhiker picked up and sent off!

A huge thank you to JoAnn and Melissa for the endless answers to my questions via email and for setting me off on this adventure on the right foot! We're hooked!

Love your stamp! :) I need to do this with the boys. I know they'd love it, it's just not the right time with everything we have going on. But I think it'd be perfect to learn the lay of the land in the new neighborhood. :)

Oh my gosh you are so far in front of me! I got a kangaroo stamp, and will get a second one to use as a hitchhiker when I get back to the US. Amazed - it is feasible that the kids and I can do every single letterbox in Australia except for one while we're here. And that one isn't completely and utterly out of the question either. ;) Ugh - got to get started NOW! xx

We should do this. About a decade ago, one of my friends started letterboxing and she insisted that I try it. Alas, I never did...well, I did carve a stamp (and I have no clue where it went). I'm currently in the UK and I know there are loads over here. Maybe we'll get started before we move back to the US...